2011 Update on Clark Fish

There's continued to be a lot of interest in the story of Clark Fish on this site: I think folks can settle down now, though - he's not going anywhere. On August 2, 2010, Clark Fish was committed to the Arizona Department of Corrections to serve a life sentence for the murder of Elizabeth Anne Friedel.

Beth Friedel's family are the ones who had the grace to ask the prosecutor to shelve the death penalty for him this summer and offer him life without parole, otherwise he would likely still be facing execution for kidnapping, torturing, and killing her as he did...which he denied doing until he was actually convicted, only at which time his attorneys claimed the PTSD made him do it.

See, there's much more to Clark Fish than PTSD, as Beth Friedel's brother pointed out to me - so don't be fooled. Just donning a military uniform does not make one a hero to be exempted from the responsibility of his/her actions, either. As many soldiers well know, in fact, there are an awful lot of people who just pull out their uniforms to hide their own inadequacies, and wrap themselves in ribbons and medals the way that politicians wrap themselves in the flag. It's show.

Vets and others out there with PTSD that's messed up your lives - Clark Fish is no sympathetic martyr to identify with. Women - he's a wreck alright, but tormenting and taking the life of an innocent human being can take its toll on the mind and soul. Do not be sucked in by his victimized appearance. He may not be very brave, but he survived Maricopa County's jail so he's tough enough. He'll find his place in prison in time. Maybe he'll even get a grip on his rage and abusiveness and help teach other vets to do so as well so they don't re-offend. Stranger things have happened.

Clark's biographer got quite close to him over the course of his trial, which may have obscured some more deeply disturbing things about his crimes and defense, but you can easily find some pretty decent human beings who have endured unbelievable trauma and never turned around to hurt anyone in response. Rape survivors don't regularly go on a nut and kill creepy men because of their trauma; most children who were sexually molested do not grow up to be pedophiles; and the vast majority of soldiers who have been in combat and seen violence first-hand don't come back and re-enact it in our streets and libraries.

That said, it appears enough people want to know how to reach prisoner Fish now that he's out of Joe's jail and in prison that I should post it. The ADC link at the top should help you keep current if he gets moved - though once someone lands in SMU, it can be a good long time before they're able to climb out and get into a less-restrictive hole. Follow this link for policies you should be aware of if you want to correspond. Here is also the family & friends guidebook.

Clark A. Fish (ADC #255567)
ASPC-Eyman/SMU I
P.O. Box 4000
Florence, AZ 85132

As a final note, though, if you want to do something good for veterans caught up in the criminal justice system, look for your local veterans court, if you have one, or inquire at your closest homeless shelter or VA hospital. There are lots of traumatized souls behind and beyond the razor wire who could use help putting their lives back together, who have hurt only themselves. My bet is that they could use the kind of fan club that Clark Fish already has behind him, so please look before you leap with your good intentions.

Hawaii: Gov Lingle vetoes CCA audit bill.

I still say that you don't need an audit anyway to determine that CCA is killing too many prisoners. Thank god they took the women out of the other CCA facility already, considering how they were being sexually assaulted.

It's time to bring these people home.

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Bill calling for audit of prison contract vetoed

By Associated Press

Posted: KPUA (Hilo, Hawaii)

Saturday, June 26th, 2010 3:16 AM HST

HONOLULU (AP) — Gov. Linda Lingle has vetoed legislation that called for an audit of a state contract with a private prison firm that houses Hawaii felons.

In a statement Friday, Lingle said HB 415 would be costly, duplicative and would force the state auditor to go provide a legal opinion and make a policy judgment outside the scope of a normal audit.

The state's contract with the Corrections Corp. of America has come under scrutiny lately in part because of the deaths of two Hawaii prisoners at the firm's Arizona facility.

Two female inmates from Hawaii serving time at the company's Kentucky prison are suing the company and Hawaii. One of the inmates claims she was raped by two guards.

Hawaii removed its female inmates from that facility last year.

US citizen suspected in AZ rancher's murder

God bless the person who brought this investigation to light, since Krentz' murder in March resulted in every undocumented brown-skinned migrant being scapegoated for it - and it no doubt contributed to the passage of SB 1070 in April. Hundreds of ranchers descended on the Capitol the day before it was passed demanding action. 

 

As reported this AM on our Phoenix NPR station, KJZZ, violent crime in America actually decreased at the same time the population of undocumented immigrants here doubled. The AZ Republic this weekend reported that violent crime along the border has decreased or been flat for the past ten years - despite the hysteria of politicians and nativists that would lead us to believe otherwise.

 

Other data I've seen reinforces the argument that communities with higher concentrations of immigrants do not experience higher rates of crime; in fact, some communities known to have many undocumented residents are safer than those full of good old American boys. I strongly suspect that more citizens than non-citizens in this country - definitely in this state - carry guns and are more prone to address social and interpersonal conflict with violence than with avoidance or grace.

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American is focus in Krentz killing

Brady McCombs  

Arizona Daily Star

Monday, May 3, 2010 12:00 am

The killing of a Southern Arizona rancher that sparked an outcry to secure the border was not random, and investigators are focusing on an American suspect, the Arizona Daily Star has learned.

High-ranking government officials with credible information spoke to the Star, citing a desire to quell the fury over illegal immigration and drug smuggling set off by the shooting death of longtime rancher Robert Krentz on March 27.

They said Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever is investigating a person in the United States, not in Mexico, in connection with the shooting.

The Star's policy is not to use unnamed sources except in instances in which the information is of high public interest.

Reached Sunday by telephone, Dever would not comment.

Krentz was found gunned down on his ranch northeast of Douglas a day after his brother reported drug-smuggling activity to the Border Patrol that led to the seizure of 290 pounds of marijuana and the arrest of eight people on the ranch.

The night of the killing, officers followed a single set of footprints to the U.S.-Mexico border, Dever said.

That sparked widespread speculation that Krentz was killed by an illegal immigrant or a drug smuggler from Mexico. In the ensuing weeks, the killing became symbolic of Arizona's porous and violent border, setting off a flurry of demands from residents, politicians and law enforcement leaders for more troops and resources to the border.

"Rob has become a martyr for this cause, a symbol," U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Hayworth said at a community meeting held on March 31 in the unincorporated community of Apache, near where the Krentz family has worked its 35,000-acre ranch for 100 years.

Many, including Dever, believe the killing propelled into law an immigration-enforcement bill passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jan Brewer that has thrust Arizona into the international spotlight.

"The fact that it got passed has a lot to do with the reflection and response to the Rob Krentz murder," Dever said from Washington, D.C., on April 20 after testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

During testimony that day, Dever said Krentz "was senselessly gunned down on his own property" and that "his murderer was tracked to the Mexican border, and has since evaded capture," according to a copy of the testimony.

"We cannot sit by while our citizens are terrorized, robbed and murdered by ruthless and desperate people who enter our country illegally," Dever said.

Forty-eight hours after the killing, Dever told reporters that investigators believed the shooting was carried out by one person, but that they didn't know if it was a man or a woman, or the person's nationality. But Dever said they had reports that Krentz made reference to an "illegal alien" over a two-way radio he used to communicate with his brother while working that day on the southern part of their ranch.

"Given the location, (I) guarantee it was not somebody on their way to Walmart to go shopping," Dever said on March 29.

The Southeastern Arizona valley where Krentz was killed is a heavily trafficked people- and drug-smuggling corridor that has seen an increase in burglaries in recent years. Sheriff's investigators and most residents believe the crimes are being committed by drug smugglers heading back to Mexico.

Ranchers and residents in the valley said the Krentz killing had cemented the transformation of illegal border activity from irritating to deadly.

Politicians from both parties across the country have weighed in on the killing and proposed plans for how to protect border residents.

Dever himself has appeared in political ads for candidates advocating for more border enforcement, including a new radio spot for Sen. John McCain.

In it, Dever says, "The drug wars in Mexico spilled over into our state - burglaries, home invasions, even murder."

On StarNet: Find extensive coverage of immigration and border issues at azstarnet.com/news/local/border

Contact reporter Brady McCombs at 573-4213 or bmccombs@azstarnet.com